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Cream of Cauliflower Soup

A creamy soup made with cauliflower, stock, butter, onion, celery, flour, milk, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Fannie Merritt Farmer · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 10 ingredients
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Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the cauliflower

  1. Soak cauliflower, head down, for one hour in cold water to cover.

  2. Cook cauliflower in boiling salted water for twenty minutes.

  3. Reserve one-half of the florets.

  4. Rub the remaining cauliflower through a sieve.

Make the soup

  1. Cook onion, celery, and bay leaf in butter for five minutes.

  2. Remove the bay leaf.

  3. Add flour and stir into hot stock.

  4. Add cauliflower and milk.

  5. Season with salt and pepper.

  6. Strain the mixture.

  7. Add the reserved florets.

  8. Reheat.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

819Calories
26 gProtein
22 gFat
131 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Fannie Merritt Farmer. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Cauliflower + celerytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together488 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Cauliflower + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,113 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Enriches the flavour and carries the aromatics, giving the soup richness.
Flour
Thickens the stock and milk into a smooth, creamy body.
Cauliflower
Forms the base of the soup, providing bulk, body and mild flavour when sieved.
Milk
Adds creaminess and softens the soup's texture.
White stock ii or iii
Provides the liquid base and savoury flavour for the soup.

The step that matters

Add the flour to the hot stock. Flour cooked in butter forms a roux; stirring it into hot stock lets it disperse evenly and thicken smoothly rather than clumping. Stir steadily as the liquid thickens.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cauliflower, butter, celery, flour, milk, pepper):

  1. Turnipfits better
  2. Leekfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cauliflower, butter, celery, flour, milk, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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